First Presbyterian Church in Adrian cleanup to begin soon

ADRIAN — The debris pile and collapsed ceiling inside the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Adrian hasn’t changed in the past month, but church officials expect that to change in the coming weeks.

“It’s been frustrating not to be able to move forward with stabilizing the roof and cleaning up the debris,” church spokesman Dane Nelson said, “but we now expect to be able to begin addressing these in the next two weeks.”

The structural failure at the nearly 200-year-old church at 156 E. Maumee St. occurred on June 21 when the main beam between the roof and ceiling collapsed, bringing with it a large section of the ceiling. Debris crashed down onto the floor, landing on some pews and the sanctuary’s piano.

No one was inside the sanctuary at the time.

Nelson said the delay in moving forward is due to the church working with its insurance company to determine what is covered. He said nothing in the sanctuary has been touched since the incident.

He said that will change soon because the church’s insurance company has agreed to cover stabilizing of the roof and the debris cleanup.

However, he said paying for the eventual repair costs still is up in the air with the insurance company.

Until the roof is stabilized, the congregation will continue to meet on Sundays at the Croswell Opera House. Once the roof is stabilized, Nelson said they will meet inside the church’s fellowship hall, which is in the basement level below the sanctuary.